Reducing-mill.



W. L. IRVBN & M. OBRIEN. Renueme MILL. APPLICATION FILED DEG'ZZ, 1908. I4

Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

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W. L. IRVEN & M.40BRIEN.

REDUGING MILL.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.22,1908. e Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

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PATENT @Fidiml WALTER L. IBFIEN AND MICHAEL OBRIEN, OF SAN FRANCISCO,CALIFORNIA.

REDUCING-IVIILL.

Application filed December To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, VALTEP. L. IRVEN and lvlrcrIAnL OBRinN, citizens ofthe United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco andState of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in'teducing-Mills, of which the following is a specilication.

Our invention relates to an automatically regulated reducing mill, inwhich the material, such as alfalfa, is ground into a fine meal; thematerial being automatically unloaded, spread and fed into the mill.

The invention consists in the combination of parts, and details ofconstruction,of which the following` is a complete description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal sideelevation in section. F ig. 2 shows a means for automatically unloading,distributing and conveying the material to the mill. Fig. 3 is anenlarged view of the grinding and adjusting mechanism. F ig. t is asection. of the feed gage, or spreader'. Fig. 5 is a partial section ofthe feed-rolls, sho-wing the overlapping edge.

In reducing mills of the kind to which our invention relates, it is agreat advantage to have a machine that is automatically operated, andself-adjusting under different conditions and strains. We provide meansto prevent choking of the feed rolls, means for adjusting the feed ofthe revolving cutters so as to produce an even quality of finer orcoarser meal; and in different mechanisms which insure a free passage ofthe material while going through the feed rolls, cutter head, screeningmechanism, etc., without liability of choking or blocking the machine atany point, thereby preventing any stops or delays. 7e accomplish thesedesirable results by the following construction: A is the main frame ofa mill carrying two feed rollers, as 2 3. The material to be reduced isfed into the chute fl leading to the rollers by any suitably constructedconveyer-belt as shown at 5. One of the feed rollers 2 is mounted on amovable carrier 6, preferably with roller bearings; and this is slidablelongitudinally upon the frame A. The roller 2 is forced into contactwith the opposite roller by a coil or other spring 7, pushing againstthe bearing boxes S of the roller. This spring-cushioned mounting of oneof the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

22, 190s. serial No. 468,729.

rollers is very desirable, allowing the rollers to yield if unevenquantities of material should happen to reach the rollers.

In order that the hay may enter as evenly as possible, we have shownwhat we term an automatic feed gage. This may bc mounted at anyconvenient point along and above the conveyor-belt 5. It consists of acylinder 9 whereon are mounted suitable picker arms l0. rhis cylinderrevolves, and as the material passes, if it is not su'liiciently spreadby the preliminary feed devices, the arms will catch the bunch and throwit back, allowing only a certain depth of hay to pass, relieving thecutters and feed rollers of any undue strain, and also preventing anychance of the rolls choking. The cutter conof the cylinder 1l, on whichare mounted adjustable steel blades l2, the edges f which may bebeveled, forming long cutting edges.

The hay after leaving the rollers in a compressed condition, is forcedover the shear plate 13 into the blades of the revolving cutter, thecutter being directly connected to the driving motor By varying thespeed of the carrier, a liner or coarser product can be produced. Theground or cut material discharging from the cutter, is received on ashaker-screen l5 mounted on the rocker-arms 1G. The screen is shaken bysuitable connections such as the eccentric 17, and pitman connection 18.The screened material is received on a conveyer-belt 19, or any other'suitable means which will convey the material away from the machine.Above the screen is shown a scraper' belt 20; this relieves the screenof any coarse materials, and keeps the :screen clean and free .fromclogging. The coarse material discharges into the auger 2l, and iselevated and returned through the feed chute et, to be reground.

The shear plate i3 is so constructed as to form the opposite cutter edgefor the revolving cutter'. There may be one or more of these edges as22u23. These are mounted in a frame 2t, pivoted at 25, and connected tothis frame is a screw-threaded rod 26. By turning the adjusting nut 27,the frame 2a can be adjusted to move to or from the revolving cutter ll;this being one means of adjusting the parts to produce a finer orcoarser meal.

The revolving grinder ,tlfL may be of cari injure the same.

borundum, or equivalent material, when the material is to be redu ed toa flour-like consistency.

The feed and compression rollers may be constructed in any suitablemanner, one of which is shown in F ig. 5, and may have overlapping edgesas 8 to prevent the hay from working outside the faces of the rolls.

At the base of the feed chute 4 is placed a magnetic plate 2S. This willhelp to retain any small particle of iron as nails or wire that mightenter the revolving cutter and T he different rollers and belts aredriven in the following manner:

Power is transmitted from the motor 14 by a belt 32 to drive a pulley33, and a gear 34 mounted on the same shaft 84a. A sprocket-wheel 35 onthe same shaft with the gear 84 transmits motion through a chain 36 tothe feed rollers 3, and motion is transmitted to the other feed rollerby means of a chain .37 driven from a sprocket-wheel 38 which is mountedupon the same shaft 382L with a gear'39, and this gear meshes with thegear 34, and receives its motion therefrom. From a belt pulley 4() uponone of these shafts, a belt 4l passes around a drum upon the shaft ofthe eccentric 17, and through this, motion is transmitted to the shakingscreen, also t-o the scraper which passes over it, and may also drivethe discharge belt and the elevating screw.

The apparatus is especially designed for grinding hay or alfalfa into aniealy substance, which is prepared in this manner for the market.

By the employment of unloading devices such as are shown in Fig. 2,loads of hay may be driven upon each side of a carrying belt 5 and theteeth 42 of the endless traveling belts passing over the loads, willtake small portions of the hay successively, and deliver it upon thecarrying-belt 5. This serves to partially distribute the hay, and whenin the course of travel of the carryingbelt, it reaches the revolvingpickers 9, it is more thoroughly spread and distributed, and passingthence betweenthe rollers 2 and 3, and thence over the feed-plate, andbeing submitted to the rapidly revolving cutter l2, which is drivendirectly from the dition that it is evenly presented to the cutter orgrinder, and thus reduced as finely as may be desired. The first actiontakes place where the hay passes over the edge of the feed plate 22, andat a point lower down is locatedanother cutter bar 23, between which andthe revolving cutter the material must again pass so that the operationwhen completed, will leave the material in the shape of a ne meal.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is- 1. An apparatus for reducing fibrous vegetablematerial, said apparatus including a revoluble member, co-actingstationary members, and combined compression and feed rolls, alreciprocating receiving screen, a traveling scraper belt above thescreen and an elevator carrier to which material from the surface of thescreen is delivered by the scraper.

2. An apparatus for reducing fibrous vegetable material, said apparatusincluding a revolublemember, co-acting stationary members, and combinedcompression and feed rolls, a reciprocating screen located beneath thepulverizer, an endless scraper belt traveling in contact with thescreen, an elevator carrier to which the scraper delivers material fromthe surface of the screen, and an endless traveling belt below theshaking screen. Y

3. rhe combination in an apparatus of the character described, of afeeding and spreading mechanism, a reducing device consisting of opposedrevoluble and stationary adjustable members between which the materialis passed, a receiving shaking screen, an endless traveling rake passingover the surface of the screen, a return elevator to which the materialfrom above the screen is delivered, and a discharge carrier for the fineproduct located below the screen.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

VALTER L. IRVEN. MICHAEL OBRIEN. lVitnesses Gro. H. STRONG, CHARLES A.PENFIELD.

